I think you’re completely barking up the wrong tree here mate. Casemiro was one of the main reasons we were nullifying opponent attacks. There was a crazy stat of how little we would concede when Casemiro was playing. If anything, when Casemiro didn’t play we were wide open.
Sofyan Amrabat | signs for United on loan
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Damn, the all touches comps look tasty and the price is good, I hope we get this done and I won't be quite as salty about Lavia.
Clubs need 23 first team players. 2 players per position outfield, and 3 goalkeepers to be safe. Anything more than that is overkill.
People talk about City's squad but it's actually not very big, it's just every first team player they have is high quality.
Last season we had the pure numbers, ETH just didn't rate most of our rotation players and so ran the first 11 into the ground.
Ha! Bruno coming off? He's the official captain now. ETH gonna play him till his legs fall off.
I agree and that's why I was so hesitant on Mount and would have preferred Caicedo. However, if we get Amrabat then him plus Mount may be arguably a better deal for us financially and player profile wise as opposed to spending all of that on Caicedo. That's if we were even in the conversation or had decided not to engage because it would have taken £80m+ and more going by the way Chelsea have found themselves dealing with Brighton.
VDB hardly played, and Mount will be in our starting line up most of the time. So it’s more like:
- Mount is replacing Eriksen/Fred as our main CM partnering Bruno and Casemiro
- Amrabat is replacing Mctominay as 2nd choice DM or squad rotation for CM
- Eriksen replacing Sabitzer as squad rotation for CM
- Mainoo will be our 3rd choice DM or bench option for CM
- Meijbri? replacing VDB as backup for CM?
If we bought Amrabat and keep Mctominay I felt we have abit too many in midfield and blocking the development of some of our talented youngster, unless we are going to loan out Mainoo, or not going to play him this season.
This season:
DM: Casemiro, Amrabat, Mainoo
CMx2: Bruno, Mount, Eriksen, (Amrabat), (Mainoo)
backup: Meijbri, Hansen-Aaroen, Gore
Last season:
DM: Casemiro, Mctominay, Fred
CMx2: Bruno, Eriksen/Sabitzer, (Fred), (Mctominay)
backup: VDB, Mainoo
If Mctominay stays:
DM: Casemiro, Amrabat, Mctominay
CMx2: Bruno, Mount, Eriksen, (Amrabat), (Mctominay)
backup: Mainoo, Meijbri, Gore
Surely Mctominay won’t feature as much in our first team and will get most of the mins in cup games blocking the development of Mainoo etc for a year at least.
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So you are underwhelmed then?
Amrabat is not a McTominay replacement. Amrabat is coming to be an option for the 2 CM positions (along with Bruno, Mount and Eriksen).
McTominay will remain an option for the 1 DM position (along with Casemiro), unless a different player is bought.
This is the heatmap that Casemiro brings as a DM. Notice how often he defends his own penalty area:
This is McTominay who also obviously played as a DM under EtH. He didn't play a lot of minutes, but has a similar showing in his own half and in his own penalty area:
For comparison, this is what a CM like Fred has. Much more evenly split between attack and defence:
And this is Amrabat, who's also a CM:
If we bought Amrabat to be a DM when Casemiro needs a rest, we'd be asking for trouble. It's not his position.
McTominay will remain an option for the 1 DM position (along with Casemiro), unless a different player is bought.
This is the heatmap that Casemiro brings as a DM. Notice how often he defends his own penalty area:
This is McTominay who also obviously played as a DM under EtH. He didn't play a lot of minutes, but has a similar showing in his own half and in his own penalty area:
For comparison, this is what a CM like Fred has. Much more evenly split between attack and defence:
And this is Amrabat, who's also a CM:
If we bought Amrabat to be a DM when Casemiro needs a rest, we'd be asking for trouble. It's not his position.
other than those reds in 12 yard box (presumably how often they're defending corners?), i struggle to see much difference between Case' and Amrabat's heatmaps.
Eriksen:
Amrabat is not a McTominay replacement. Amrabat is coming to be an option for the 2 CM positions (along with Bruno, Mount and Eriksen).
McTominay will remain an option for the 1 DM position (along with Casemiro), unless a different player is bought.
This is the heatmap that Casemiro brings as a DM. Notice how often he defends his own penalty area:
This is McTominay who also obviously played as a DM under EtH. He didn't play a lot of minutes, but has a similar showing in his own half and in his own penalty area:
For comparison, this is what a CM like Fred has. Much more evenly split between attack and defence:
And this is Amrabat, who's also a CM:
If we bought Amrabat to be a DM when Casemiro needs a rest, we'd be asking for trouble. It's not his position.
So who would you play when he needs a rest
Very true. Harmless, but true.
McTominay.
The reason we're holding out for £45m is presumably because that's what it'll cost to get a different DM we've already scouted as a replacement but can't afford right now.
If Amrabat was the replacement, we'd be much more open to offers for Scott and wouldn't be talking about wanting to keep him. McT is most likely in his final year, though, a bit like DDG was given a last minute reprieve due to budgetary constraints last summer.
McTominay is shite at defending and he's useless in the buildup phase. The idea that he is an adequate cover for Casemiro is laughable.
Possibly but we’ll be carrying 7 midfielders if McT stays which feels heavy, I assumed the apparent reluctance to sell him was a sales technique to drive the price up. I haven’t seen much of Amrabat but I very much assumed he’s a CDM and would act as cover for Casemiro.
Seems like he is more of a DLP so suggests maybe Erik will maybe look to get a pure DM next window if he can sell McTominay
My thoughts exactly.
Yeah, his passing stats are very good, especially his long passing which you'd normally associate with a DLP. Mainoo could soon be Casemiro's backup. He looks very assured.
I think you're well wide of the mark here. Amrabat is much more likely to fill in for Casemiro in the DM role than McTominay, as well as partnering him in a double pivot on occasion depending on the opposition. McTominay just isn't an effective DM. His positioning, passing and press resistance just isn't good enough in that part of the pitch. He also doesn't show for the ball and contribute to setting the tempo. He is better as a high energy B2B that can press and get forward towards goal. Amrabat on the other hand would add some steel, composure and passing range in that part of the pitch. One of the main reasons we seem to be holding out on McTominay is because he's useful in filling part of our homegrown quota.
Your forgetting we will be playing a much higher line his season with Onana at the back. That will affect all the heat maps.Amrabat is not a McTominay replacement. Amrabat is coming to be an option for the 2 CM positions (along with Bruno, Mount and Eriksen).
McTominay will remain an option for the 1 DM position (along with Casemiro), unless a different player is bought.
This is the heatmap that Casemiro brings as a DM. Notice how often he defends his own penalty area:
This is McTominay who also obviously played as a DM under EtH. He didn't play a lot of minutes, but has a similar showing in his own half and in his own penalty area:
For comparison, this is what a CM like Fred has. Much more evenly split between attack and defence:
And this is Amrabat, who's also a CM:
If we bought Amrabat to be a DM when Casemiro needs a rest, we'd be asking for trouble. It's not his position.
Nice heat maps btw
I agree with this. And Casemiro, Mount, Bruno, Eriksen, Amrabat and Mainoo would be more than enough dept. Furthermore, we are unlikely to be able to sell Donny.
Also from FFP perspective hes pure profit as hes homegrown. So for utd the more they can get for him the better.
Showed up well against a vastly superior team considering he was 20 and playing on the right side of midfield in a 3-4-3.
Maybe we don't need a pure DM like Casemiro in ETH tactic.
Last season, we are only chasing DLP like FDJ before Casemiro arrival. So maybe ETH feel okay for a solo DLP in deep position
That’s £20-22m including bonuses. Absolute bargain that is if true.
It should also point towards the fact that he isn’t very good. He was one of fiorentinas lowest rated players last year on WhoScored. I’d rather spend that £20m on a loan fee and wages for a backup striker for a season.
name/post
I love how people watch football through stats now, it's very exciting.
Watching some clips of Amrabat, man italian league looks really slow. Anyway, I consider him to be a cheap cover so no issue with that transfer, McTominay wasn't even a DM/deep midfielder so the bar isn't set high.
One of fiorentina's best players last season, who did the busquetes role of breaking up play and pass, pass, pass. Will be a great signing for us.
"..Amrabat is a high-volume passer within the Fiorentina system and he does so with a high degree of accuracy.
Amrabat is regularly involved in Fiorentina’s circulation of possession, as well as having a very high overall progressive passing distance. He understands how to dictate the tempo of a game whilst possessing the ability to break the lines.
Ranking in the 94th percentile for touches in the middle third in Europe’s top 5 leagues, Amrabat is the hub of what La Viola do with the ball and ultimately makes this possession-centric system work. The Moroccan also specialises in medium and long-range passing. This allows him to diversify his style of ball movement.
Statistically, Amrabat is genuinely one of the best distance passers in Europe, both in volume and accuracy. He’s adept at sitting deep and spraying passes all over the pitch whilst also providing the defensive reliability required of a deep-lying midfielder.
He is very capable as a passer in advanced positions, especially as Fiorentina retain possession at such a high rate and enjoy sustained possession in opposition territory. He’s then able to use his tremendous vision and high-quality technique to exploit passing lanes and deliver excellent progressive and penetrative passes and crosses from the half-spaces.
Amrabat’s value goes beyond just his passing. The Morocco international is also a strong ball carrier, using powerful runs and close control to evade pressure. Standing at a reported 1.85m tall, he possesses both the size and strong frame to win duels regularly and cover plenty of ground with the ball..."
https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/player-analysis-sofyan-amrabat/
Bollocks, his passing stats are impressive and his defensive work underrated. One of the best players at the world cup.
If we get him for 25-30 million it is a bargain.
Another stats warrior who doesn’t watch football games
But that would be a cost of £20 mill. Signing Amrabat at £20 mill is likely a cost of £4 mill + wages next year. In other words, dont work that way.
I really dont buy that a fee «points towards» anything. Same with a whoscored-rating. This fee would make him one of Fiorentinas most expensive sales ever (top 5).
Looks like this one is all but done. I've liked Amrabat every time I've seen him play. Definitely one that looks far better on the eye test than with stats. Will be a really good signing imo, especially at that price. A part of me is a bit sad tough, only because I think Mainoo is good enough to get gametime as a squad player and I do think Amrabat's signing will impact his development significantly tbh. That being said, I think the biggest positive is having the option to play a double pivot of Casemiro and Amrabat against some of the better midfields which is where ETH was exposed a lot last season imo. Hoping we will see that change when we play the likes of City and Liverpool.
Also I don't care what way someone is trying to interpret a heatmap, I can see with my own eyes that Amrabat was clearly playing as a dm for Morocco at the World Cup and he was excellent. Played a similar holding role when I watched Firorentina last season. He definitely has the positioning, tackling and reading of the game to be a number 6 (and he has definitely played there).
Frankly I don't even know how you've come to that conclusion by looking at the heatmap because it's obviously much more similar to Casemiro's than it is to McTominay or Fred
Amrabat is not a McTominay replacement. Amrabat is coming to be an option for the 2 CM positions (along with Bruno, Mount and Eriksen).
McTominay will remain an option for the 1 DM position (along with Casemiro), unless a different player is bought.
This is the heatmap that Casemiro brings as a DM. Notice how often he defends his own penalty area:
This is McTominay who also obviously played as a DM under EtH. He didn't play a lot of minutes, but has a similar showing in his own half and in his own penalty area:
For comparison, this is what a CM like Fred has. Much more evenly split between attack and defence:
And this is Amrabat, who's also a CM:
If we bought Amrabat to be a DM when Casemiro needs a rest, we'd be asking for trouble. It's not his position.
Also I don't care what way someone is trying to interpret a heatmap, I can see with my own eyes that Amrabat was clearly playing as a dm for Morocco at the World Cup and he was excellent. Played a similar holding role when I watched Firorentina last season. He definitely has the positioning, tackling and reading of the game to be a number 6 (and he has definitely played there).
Frankly I don't even know how you've come to that conclusion by looking at the heatmap because it's obviously much more similar to Casemiro's than it is to McTominay or Fred
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I know but that’s my whole point. As long as we play with only one true DM and two 10’s, the DM needs to be mobile enough to take on extra defensive duties. And that’s where I think Case is lacking.
Casemiro is in the top percentile for almost all the defensive responsibilities. He did great with Eriksen, and he's going to do much better with Mount as it means less defensive responsibility, not more.
This is a ridiculously bad take. You're talking about one of the best dms in the world by any metric. Casemiro is extremely mobile as is evident by the fact that he's in the 99th percentile for almost all defensive stats. If you had criticised his passing I could maybe understand your point, but this is just fantasy.
Think as soon as we shift either Fred or McT () we will pull the trigger on him. Both attracting a lot more attention this week, and he would provide great depth. As @simonhch said the turnaround in midfield would be remarkable.
) we will pull the trigger on him. Both attracting a lot more attention this week, and he would provide great depth. As @simonhch said the turnaround in midfield would be remarkable.If we can bring Amrabat and sell McFred it will be a very good transfer window for us. And the problems we had in recent years in midfield will almost be resolved.
Mount, Onana, Hojlund and Amrabat are exciting signings and will raise our level plus if we manage to get one more central defender somehow would be perfect.
If we can get Greenwood back in the team we will be one of the best teams in the Premier League
Just imagine Antony, Greenwood, Sancho, Rashford, Hojlund, Martial as attackers,
Mount, Amrabat, Eriksen , Bruno , Casemiro , Mainoo as midfielders,
and Shaw, Malacia , Licha , Lindelof , Varane , Disasi (Evans ) , Dalot , Awb as defenders.
Mount, Onana, Hojlund and Amrabat are exciting signings and will raise our level plus if we manage to get one more central defender somehow would be perfect.
If we can get Greenwood back in the team we will be one of the best teams in the Premier League
Just imagine Antony, Greenwood, Sancho, Rashford, Hojlund, Martial as attackers,
Mount, Amrabat, Eriksen , Bruno , Casemiro , Mainoo as midfielders,
and Shaw, Malacia , Licha , Lindelof , Varane , Disasi (Evans ) , Dalot , Awb as defenders.
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Soon to be done dealio.
Be great if we can get this done, he's a v decent player.
Get him in, and get some out!
Get him in, and get some out!
I reckon this is on.
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